


Perchance to Dream

by zaithat



Category: Guardians of Childhood & Related Fandoms, Guardians of Childhood - William Joyce, Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Historical, Alternate Universe - Human, Child Abuse, Drug Use, Gen, Gen or Pre-Slash, M/M, Mystery, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-10-29
Updated: 2013-10-28
Packaged: 2017-12-30 19:53:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1022736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zaithat/pseuds/zaithat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>At the cusp of adulthood, Jack Frost might have stumbled on some dark secrets looming over Burgess.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Perchance to Dream

**Author's Note:**

> I'm posting this first part in honor of Black Ice week 3, day 2: Period Piece.

Jack watched the pair of women to pass by him, their bustles moving slightly with their steps. He had to bend backward to avoid the edges of their parasols, but the action came like second nature to him. He walked down the street, avoiding crashing into any other pedestrian on the street but not catching anyone’s attention. He felt like a quiet bubble among the chaos that surrounded him. The sun was beginning to set, bringing life to the many areas of the city of Burgess while others were closing down for the night.

Laughing he caught the edge of a tall gas light and swung around the corner. The action only caught a brief flicker of attention before he was down the street again. No one stopped him from repeating the action on the other gas lights he ran across on his way. His journey ended at a house squashed between two large and dark buildings. The small house was in disrepair and showed little signs of life. Jack didn’t even hesitate when he got to the door and stepped through the threshold.

The inside was as chaotic as the house’s facade was. Jack only paused long enough to turn and watch the door close out the remnants of the winter’s dying light. In the gloomy darkness, Jack kept walking, his fingertips trailing little patterns in the dust settled on the old pieces.

“Jack!” Sofi said happily from the top of the staircase in the back of the hallway. Her mousy hair was messy and her smile wide enough to show the missing tooth in her smile. She bounded down the stairs and launched herself at him for a hug.

The blond laughed and swept her up into his arms. “Hello there. Someone’s getting big. Where’s your brother?” he asked before he carefully set her down on the ground. Her dress was messy and stained, but he only made sure to straighten out the skirts before releasing her.

“Jamie is dreaming.” Sofi replied. The comment made Jack frown a little bit and tilt his head. “In his room.” The rest of the answer made him nod before heading over to the stairs himself. The little girl followed him as they made their way up the narrow staircase and to the room on the left.

Flopped on the bed was Jamie. His hand reached out to swat at invisible items in the air while a breathy giggle escaped his lips. Jack stopped at the scene, breath catching in his lungs for a moment. “Jamie?” he asked softly. He took a cautious step into the room while taking several deep breaths.

His question only received another giggle.

“Sofi, how long has he been like this?” Jack’s eyes darted around the room before settling on the little girl in front of him.

“Since he came home.” She replied with another pleased smile. “Play with me? Jamie’s no fun.”

Jack pulled on his cravat to undo the tight knot against his throat. “Maybe not now. I want to chat with Jamie.” He pulled off his coat and laid it carefully with the cravat against a wooden chair next to the basin stand. “I’ll play with you later, alright?” Sofi looked at his face with narrowed eyes before nodding and going out to her own room.

“Jamie? Can you hear me?” He asked while stepping closer to the bed. Wide brown eyes blinked slowly and out of sync with each other. Jamie’s hair was messier than usual and even more so than his sister’s own hair. He let his head fall back onto the bed with another little giggle. “Jamie?”

“Caszeh lights.” Jamie finally slurred. He reached up his hand again to swat at the air pointlessly. When his hand closed on nothing, he made another attempt at giggling, but the noise was more of a whine than anything.

Jack sat on the edge of the bed and placed a hand on Jamie’s forehead. He felt warmer than him, but that was little help for Jack’s usually cold hands. Still, he did not feel abnormally warm for the moment. As his hand pulled away, he caught a strange texture around Jamie’s mouth. He lifted his hand to see a slight golden shimmer on his finger tips. A closer inspection made him notice a concentration on Jamie’s top lip. He quickly rubbed the substance on the sheets. His hands worked on Jamie’s shirt collar to open it more as Jamie’s chest heaved with his gulps of air.

Suddenly, Jamie’s giggles stopped for a moment and his eyes focused intently on the ceiling. Jack watched his lips move to try and form words as the eyes grew blank. His whole body shook with the force of his gasp, his back arched off the bed, and soon he deflated at the great gust of air that escaped him. The blond tried to keep Jamie still, but his eyes slid shut and his limbs lost all rigidity.

“Jamie?” Jack shook his friend several times with no reaction. “Jamie!” He shouted this time. Still, there was no response from him.

The front door slammed shut, jerking Jack out of his shaking. He flew off the bed to crouch behind the open wardrobe door. His eyes flickered over to his coat but did not make a move toward it. Heavy footsteps rang through the house and nearly echoed up the stairs before the door to the room flew open. A ruddy faced man stood in the doorway and looked at the sleeping form.

“Bloody wanker took my Dream Sand.” The words slurred from the filthy mouth. “I’ll make you pay for that.” He took a staggered step before turning around and slamming the door again.

Jack crossed the room without seeming to touch the ground. He checked over Jamie, sure the noise would have woken him. One little shake gave no sign of reaction from the brunette. The blonde frowned and let his friend fall back to the bed. He looked around the room for any other signs. The sound of heavy footsteps still rang through the house, enough to make Jack pause. He gave up and reached for his coat and cravat, quickly pulling them back into place. He checked the silver timepiece quickly before turning out of the room. He wasted no time in slipping out of the house.

On the sidewalk again, Jack looked up at the darkening sky. He jerked in surprise to see a pale figure standing next to an unlit gas light. Despite the gloom of the now dark street, he seemed to radiate pale light. His red eyes narrowed slightly at Jack, who slowly straightened his back. A little tilted smile crossed his face for a moment. The pale man nodded as he turned and started down the street, heading in the direction of the even darker and more dangerous parts of the city.

A deep breath did little to calm Jack’s beating heart when he staggered to the nearest gas light, the one in the opposite direction from the pale man. He leaned against the cold metal without much notice and pressed a shaky hand to his chest. His heart was battering his rib cage, which was expanding widely to contain his quick breaths. His fingers caught slightly on the chair holding his pocket watch in the attempt to pull it out of his vest. A quick shake of his head and Jack pushed himself off the post to head down the street.

The street was emptier on his walk back to his home. The large house beamed with light which glinted off the fresh coat of paint to keep the painted lady looking fresh. His steps bounced off the stairs and soon he was inside his home. The warm air struck his face, bringing the blood to the surface and coloring his cheeks rosy.

“Jack!” The voice made Jack look over at the grand staircase in the room and made him smile.

“Emma.” He replied back. “You look lovely.” He stepped to his sister and helped down the last few steps.

“Jack. Where have you been? You’re to escort me to the Livingston’s party soon.” She chided. “And look at your cravat. You never tie it right.”

“Emma, stop. You’re going to choke me.” Jack laughed as he flailed some to stop the hands from getting to his throat. “I’m here now, I still want to escort you to the party. I will only take a moment to get my valet and change.”

**

The party was, as usual, very dull. They had arrived in the correct time frame, along with a number of other party goers. The dance floor was filled with finely dressed people, all trying to talk over each other. Jack kept an eye on his sister while he stayed against the wall to watch others. No one seemed to notice him slipped among the coat tails and bustles through the room.

He had been spent only an hour at the party, but he was already done with the whole event. Already he had tried to dance with a few of the women at the party, but each was boring and too practiced to be any fun. The idea was to find a good area to watch his sister and maybe find a way to cause some mischief amongst the group.

While Jack had been hoping for something to interrupt his boredom, running into a tall man was not what he had been expecting. He staggered back at the force of the impact and looked up at the stranger with wide eyes. “My apologies. My head must have been in the clouds.” He said with a little nod.

“I believe I am as much at fault by this as you are.” The man replied, giving Jack a return nod. He was striking, pale enough to nearly glow in the candlelight with slicked back black hair. He towered over the other party goers, but somehow managed to blend into the shadows at the same time. His eyes were a strange combination of gold and silver that made it hard to pinpoint an exact color for him. He was dressed impeccably with greys and gold accents.

Jack instantly knew this was a man of a much higher status than him. “Then we will have to forget about this incident.” He offered with a little smile and a wave of his hand. “I am Jackson Overland Frost. It is my pleasure to meet you, even in this unconventional manner.”

“A bit forward, aren’t we?” The man replied, arching one of his nearly absent eyebrows. “Count Kozmotis Pitchiner. A pleasure.” He held out his hand to Jack, who only stared at the hand for a moment before giving in and shaking it firmly. The shake made Kozmotis smile a little bit. “I always find your American traditions amusing.”

“You really aren’t from here, huh?” Jack asked, giving up any formality now. This count could leave if he was offended. Besides, he was curious about where the accent had originated.

“England, I’m afraid.” He replied, a hint of a smile flashing on his lips. Jack caught the edge of a line of sharp, white teeth behind pale lips.

“Of course. Here for business, or pleasure?”

“Business, what else?”

Jack felt his smile drop at that. He did not want to talk about business. “What sort of business?”

“Oh, mostly import and export trading. I have a great many contacts back in England who help me with my business. What sort of business is your family in, Mister Frost?”

“We own several shops throughout Burgess and the neighboring cities. We like to focus on foreign wares. Perhaps you have dealt with my father?”

“Yes, I believe so.” Kozmotis looked at Jack with slightly narrowed eyes for a long moment. “I believe he might have mentioned you during some of our conversations. Though, he does like to stay on track with his conversations.”

“That sounds like Father. I hope he hasn’t been too bad to deal with.”

“Certainly not. He has been a good contact. He mentioned you were going to be looking for an apprenticeship soon?”

The question made Jack nearly take a step back. He had not been aware his father was looking for a job for him. “Yes, I suppose he has. He wishes for me to get a better understanding of how the business works.”

Kozmotis gave another flash of teeth and nodded. “He is a wise man. I will need to speak with him soon. I believe there is a proposition we can make.”

Jack opened his mouth to reply, but his sister appeared behind him and captured his attention. With a little apologetic smile, he turned to listen to his sister and help her. When he turned back around to speak with Kozmotis, the man was gone. “Did you see him leave?” he asked Emma.

“See who leave?” She asked back.

“Never mind then. Let us see if there is any punch to have now.” Jack offered his arm to his sister before they glided through the crowd with ease.

**

Jack had not been expecting to be called into his father’s office the next morning, but he did as he was told and went into the room with his hands clenched behind his back. He shifted from the balls of his feet to his heels before repeating the process again.

“Ah, Jackson, good to see you came so soon.” His father said when he looked up from his stack of papers.

“I thought it might be important.” He replied with a little nod.

“That it is, my son. I have found you a mentor to show you the way of business.”

The words made Jack stop for a moment as he thought about that. He blinked slowly before nodding toward his father. “I assume you have found a suitable solution?”

“Yes, the answer came to me in the morning post. I am writing my response right now. You are to be apprenticed to Count Pitchiner. He will be settling down in Burgess for a while, and he expressed interest in you after your acquaintance last night at the Livingston’s ball.”

“We did meet each other there. He seemed familiar with you and our business.” Jack hedged.

“Excellent, then it is all settled. Tomorrow morning, you will spend your days with Count Pitchiner to learn the trade from him. Do use your time wisely.”

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first part of what I hope to be a decent length mystery fic. This is my first mystery, so this part might change in the final edit. This was originally started for the 1800s AU contest being held on Tumblr, but I doubt I will be able to finish for that deadline. I do hope to finish this piece, everything has been outlined.
> 
> If you have any questions, feel free to ask me at zaithat.tumblr.com . I also tend to post little drabbles that I don't end up posting here, usually GoldenFrost!


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